


404 NOT FOUND.

by Frosty_Freckles27



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Aromantic, Asexuality, Attempted Sexual Assault, Bisexuality, Boarding School, Bullying, Canon Non-Binary Character, Death, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Drug Use, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, F/F, F/M, Friend group, Friendship, Gay, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Internalized Homophobia, LGBTQ, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, Major character death - Freeform, Marijuana, Mentions of Christianity, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Story - Freeform, Other, Pansexual Character, Questioning Sexuality, Religion, Religious Content, Religious Cults, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Self-Harm, Sexual Assault mentions, Sexual Content, Teenagers, Trauma, Underage Drinking, Underage Drug Use, Underage Sex, doesn't contain an eating disorder but eating habits are criticized, lowkey a religious cult, mentions of weight, messed up family, mlw - Freeform, pedophilic comments, unstable home life, wlw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:33:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28597023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frosty_Freckles27/pseuds/Frosty_Freckles27
Summary: Having gone her whole life with her decisions being made for her by her family, Evangeline once again finds herself at their mercy when they force her to attend a religious boarding school called Eastwood Academy. A school that they, as a family, own. At Eastwood not only does she have to find out how she's supposed to get by without trouble, but she must deal with the arising questions she has about her identity. Luckily, she has friends to help her along the way. But will they all make it to see the end?
Kudos: 2





	404 NOT FOUND.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is an ongoing piece I've been working on for a little while now. It's a story centered around a very crucial part of my character Eva's life.  
> This contains brief mentions of criticizing eating habits, alcoholism, abuse, and an absent parent.
> 
> Songs:  
> Your sister was right - Wilbur

The sound of occasional shouting or slamming of doors was not a very uncommon thing in this household. By now, it had almost become background music of sorts. As expected, the promise of faint bickering being heard followed through, just like it had every other dreary night. The angry voices drifted from downstairs, most of the words inaudible to the child who was sitting in bed with the intent of finishing her math worksheet. She hummed to herself a tune of which did not belong to any particular song she’d heard. While doing an equation her attention slowly shifted to the yelling from downstairs.

“...But she’s your daughter- how could you say such a thing?”

A deep sigh was heard, a brief moment of silence following. “Katherine, I can’t keep doing this. You and your family, _including Evangeline,_ don’t have a place to tell me otherwise.”

“Then why did you-”

“For Christ’s sake shut up woman! It doesn't matter that she’s my daughter, it doesn’t matter that I’ve helped to raise her- I already know she's bound to turn out like the lot of you! Your whole fucking family is insane!” Another silence fell over, the man's words sinking in.

By this point, the kid sat up. It wasn’t uncommon to hear such things, but he’d never talked about her when having these types of conversations with her mother...Did that mean it was her fault and he’d only been trying to hide it? Was she the cause of all this? The thought settled deeply within her, and the stab of guilt weighed down harshly on her heart.

Though the slight sting in her eyes didn’t keep her from doing her work, and she looked back down to the paper. But with all of the yelling in the background, it was quite hard to focus. Getting up from bed she grabbed her earbuds and plugged them into her phone. The music more or less drowned out her parents and that brought some relief.

Two more equations left, her homework was almost done.

A loud slam startled her, causing her pencil to rip through the paper. She took out the earbuds quickly. The house was dead silent. Hesitantly she got to her feet and slowly walked to the door, opening it. The creak echoed eerily through the hall and she winced at how loud it was.

No more arguing, no more screaming, and no passive-aggressive doors being closed. Why was it suddenly so quiet? The feeling in her chest tightened and her breathing became more shallow. A few seconds went by. Still no noise from downstairs. Eventually, the child dragged up the gut to walk to the staircase.

“Mom...?” she called down the stairs.

A small bit of shuffling could be heard, but not much else. After more deliberation, she reluctantly started walking down the steps. Each squeak of them increased the intense anxious feeling welling within her.

Once reaching the bottom she noticed that nothing looked to be out of place. But both her parents were nowhere to be seen. The panic she’d previously had a grasp on was beginning to slip from her fingers and she frantically looked around.

“Mom?” she paused, trying to regain her composure. “Dad?” her voice cracked, and her throat burned intensely as tears reluctantly started to form. _Hold it back. Don’t cry. No crying, Eva._ She rounded the corner to the living room, immediately stopping in her tracks at the sight before her.

There laid her mother, crumpled into a pathetic heap by the front door. Every other second or so, her body shook as a sob overcame her. Eva slowly walked in her direction, her eyes glued to her mother. “Mom…? Where's dad? A-Are you okay?” the questions had tumbled past her lips before she was able to stop herself.

When no answer came she reached out a hesitant hand, soon enough placing it on her shoulder. Kneeling, she sat next to her mother, attempting to pull the women into her tiny embrace. For a while, there was no answer. And so, the child would continue to comfort her in silence. Running her hands through her mother’s hair soothingly, her eyes trailed around the room. As stated previously, nothing seemed to be out of place. Though upon further inspection a few things were off.

The second pair of keys to the house and car were gone, some pillows were strewn around on the floor by the couch, and lastly- her father’s wallet was missing from the coffee table. It was there the last time she checked, and neither of them had come upstairs since they started arguing. There would be no reason to move it elsewhere, which would lead the child to believe he wasn't home.

That realization brought a weird sense of relief, and she quickly scolded herself for it before moving on to another thought, attempting to distract herself from this one.

She brought her eyes to the door. The frame had a crack in it. It was small, and she couldn't remember if it was there before tonight. Then trailing her gaze to the floor, she saw some scuff marks as well. _What happened here..._

It wasn't evident how much time had passed, but eventually her mother stopped weeping and was able to bring herself to stand. Her daughter led her to her bedroom, helping her to sit down on the bed's edge. The two shared a look, and Eva smiled, reaching up to wipe a tear from her mother’s face. “I’ll go get you some water and an Advil. Lay down, I’ll be back in just a moment.”

Upon turning away, she leaned against the door and her smile slowly faded away, leaving a frown in its place. Nevertheless, she put her emotions aside and went to the kitchen, grabbing a glass and an Advil from the cupboard. Opening the fridge she scanned the contents before finding the water, and when reaching for it her hand brushed against one of the many alcoholic beverages.

This only served as a reminder for all the bad things that have happened because of it, the memory of an intense burning feeling and the constant putrid smell of cigarettes coming to the forefront of her mind. Pursing her lips sourly she tore her eyes away from it and grabbed the water, closing the fridge with an unnecessary amount of force. She’d pour it into a glass, it almost spilling over due to the slight shakiness of her hands.

After going back upstairs and taking care of her mother, she figured it was best to leave her to rest for the night. She closed her bedroom door, running her hands through her hair with a deep sigh. Her eyes felt heavy, and every step down the hall was a bit sluggish. Pausing in front of a half-opened door, she quickly peeked inside. Her father’s room was one of the few locations no one was allowed into except for him unless they were given permission. The same goes for his office, but she’d never actually been inside it before. It wasn’t a privilege granted to her, and while she was curious- she always chose to respect the boundary.

 _He feeds and clothes us, puts a roof over our head-_ always _do as he say_ s. Eva’s mother was the one to tell her that, and she went along with it without question. It seemed sensible, everyone deserves privacy when they do so much for others. He gets his stuff, and they get theirs. 

Once she was able to peel her eyes away, she went back downstairs to where she’d found her mother earlier. Eva picked up the pillows on the floor, fixing them to be how they should be. Then she cleaned the scuff marks and dirt on the floor in front of the door, and once done stood there for a good minute observing the newfound split in the wood. Running her finger along with it she felt the jagged edges and wondered if in the morning she should ask her mother where the paint was so she could fix the chip it had.

Eventually, she found herself satisfied with the number of tasks she did to make the house seem as normal as possible, and felt that she’d earned a spot of rest.

When laying in bed she stared at the ceiling with a blank face, attempting to think about the current situation. Up until now, she was feeling very...Normal. As if this all had not just happened, and as if her parents were both in their respective rooms sleeping. But no, that's not what happened. Not at all.

While she didn’t know the details, what she did know is that her parents fight a lot. More often than not, she’d be left to clean up a broken or spilled bottle of alcohol, sometimes picture frames or random items that had been knocked over in a fit of anger. _This was normal, it was perfectly normal. Nothing about that is out of the ordinary, everyone's family must be like this. Right?_

That’s what she’d tell herself, and at one point she truly did believe it. She refused to believe that there was anything wrong with this situation, and instead opted for the fantasy that this is exactly what everyone else has to deal with. _He’s never hit me, I should be considered lucky_. She’d tell herself that too. _B_ _ut h_ _e_ has _burned you, though_.

Every day was like a fight with herself, with this lie that she created when she was just a little kid to keep herself safe from the harsh truth of reality. It simply was failing to uphold, and she was struggling to believe it any longer.

She let out a strained and near-silent cry, immediately afterward a painful sob racking through her as she curled in on herself as her lungs began to burn. It didn't stop, she couldn't make it stop no matter how hard she tried. Tear after tear- she cried her heart and soul out into her pillow, clutching it until her knuckles turned white. It was near impossible to catch her breath in between. She still attempted to force some air into her lungs, though it would always be cut short by another sharp inhale and cry.

_He’s left us._

That was still very much a fact to this day, around two months since that night had passed. These dinners with her entire family were always a chore, but having to deal with them afterward was even worse. Eva was zoned out on a plate of food on the table and was only brought back to actuality by her elbow being smacked off the table’s edge.

“Manners, Evangeline. Elbows off the table.”

She straightened her posture a bit, adjusting herself so that she wasn't sitting improperly. Opening her mouth to answer, she paused for a moment and attempted to form her words correctly. “I’m sorry, zia.” out of habit, her gaze dipped down to stare at her plate. On it, there had only been a thing or two, a buttered roll of bread and barely a bite of pasta. She awkwardly looked at everyone else's plates, they were all filled with multiple different foods. 

And so, she reached forwards and was going to get a bit more pasta, but a family member's voice made her freeze in place.

“And haven't you grabbed enough food? You better be planning to leave some for your cousin’s…” Eva glanced over to the one who had spoken- her eldest aunt, Kimberly.

Another one of them spoke up soon after. “Just as I was thinking, she practically ate everything on the table. You want the damned cloth as well?” Giving a painfully sarcastic smile Eva forcefully put down the plate before promptly standing from the table.

“I can’t deal with this today.”

Before she was able to turn her back to them her mother caught her arm, thwarting her attempt. They were silent as they stared each other down, waiting for one to say something first. Everyone at the table looked shocked at her behavior, and they all whispered to each other as Eva sat down.

The dinner continued silently, a tense air in the dining room. She’d been pushing her food around the plate, not wanting to eat after all of that. Though as expected Kimberly spoke up again.

“By the way, now that your father-” one of her sisters nudged her, and she paused to give them a look before continuing with her speech. “We’ve decided it’s about time you attended Eastwood Academy. You’re in the right year, and there's no one to object to it-” she side-eyed her sister, who seemed as if she was going to interrupt again.

Eva sat with her mouth slightly agape, trying to process this information. Putting the fork down she turned to her mother. “You agree with this? Sending me away?”

She averted her eyes. “We all went there, it’s not as bad as your father made it out to be. It’s not much different from-”

“That bullshit!”

“Evangeline, watch your mouth! Your cousins are here!” Kimberly scolded.

Glancing over she saw Mia, the oldest cousin, giving her a disapproving look. Followed by Thea, who always did whatever Mia was doing. And then Samuel. He was the youngest, and the only one who didn’t follow what everyone else in the family did. He was simply staring at the table cloth, playing with the ends of it, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Sighing, she stood up. 

“Fine. _fine._ Do whatever the _hell_ you want. I already know you don’t care about my opinion on the matter.” she gave a sarcastic smile. “Now if you’d excuse me, I’m going to the bathroom. But by all means, please continue discussing my future that everyone seems to be allowed to have an opinion on, _except for me._ ”

And so, she left without another word. All her aunts were appalled that she dared to say things like that to their faces. Once Eva had left, Samuel finally looked up from the table cloth and peered at everyone else, contemplating something. He too stood from the table, and swiftly apologized to his aunts before running after his cousin.

It was quite easy to find her, there were very few places in this building that she enjoyed being in. One of those places was the library. The two would often sneak away from the family, giggling and shushing one another as they stack up the books to make a fort. Looking through the fantasy books and talking about the cool creatures, reading to each other their favorite parts. Playing hide and seek, the only thing used to locate each other being two dull flashlights, which would often go out and leave them playing Marco Polo instead.

Over time, the library became dusty and old. Very unkempt and uncared for. The air grew stale and the majority of the books hadn't been touched for years. He’d been beginning to think that if you spent too much time in there nowadays, you’d end up sneezing dust or get sick.

Creaking open the door he did a glance around, to which he didn't see her. He went in a bit deeper and stopped at the area that had long wooden tables, and the walls were filled with big bay windows that could be used for reading. Unsurprisingly, she occupied one of these windows.

He made his way to sit next to her and tried not to cough from all the built-up dust on the pillows that had been disturbed by his presence. “Hey…I’m sorry they said that to you. It was mean and they shouldn’t have done that.”

Eva looked at him, giving a small grin. Sam was only eleven, he was trying his best and she recognized that. Leaning over she hugged him, hoping her next statement would alleviate his worry. “No, it’s okay. I’m not bothered by that…I’m just in a bad mood.” she pulled back a bit, her arms still faintly around him. She brought her finger to his nose, giving the tip a small tap before giggling. “I’m perfectly fine, Sam. No need to worry about me.”

Sam gave a relieved smile. “That’s good! Please stay happy, I don’t like seeing you wound up like that…But it’s okay if you can’t be. I understand.”

His innocently said words sent a sharp pain to her heart, and she disguised it by returning his smile. “Thank you, it’s nice to know you’re on my side. Oh also,” she stood up. “I say we should get out of here before we get sick or something. It’s very dusty.”

Sam was quick to agree, shaking his head. “Oh my god, please. I’m dying here.”

“I thought so, you’re terrible at controlling your expressions. You look like you’re trying to hold back a sneeze.”

“Well, that's because I am!”

Eva laughed, coughing afterward and covering her mouth with her sleeve. “C’mon, we can laugh and make jokes once we’re out of the danger zone and not inhaling dust older than nonna.”


End file.
